Panthers dominate Comets, 48-12

By Dan Truttschel~Sports Correspondent

Two football teams with entirely different agendas met at Friday night.

But early on, it would have been hard to tell which team was about the end its season and which one had a playoff berth on the line.

Visiting Delavan-Darien, which struggled to just one win all year, held a 6-0 lead after the first quarter before Wilmot erupted with 34 points in the second en route to a 48-12 victory.

With the Southern Lakes Conference win, the Panthers improved to 4-3 and 4-4 overall. More importantly, the victory secured a playoff berth for Wilmot, which travels to state powerhouse Waunakee for a Division 2 Level 1 game this Friday.

Anything less than a playoff berth wasn’t an option, Wilmot coach Mike Greinke said.

“We expect to be in the playoffs every year,” he said. “To not get in would be a gigantic step back. Our kids worked too hard and too long. This was an extremely competitive conference this year.”

Delavan came out of the gates fast last week and put its first-quarter touchdown on the board with the help of a trick play.

On third down, the Comets pulled a double pass out of the playbook, and executed it perfectly on a 29-yard scoring strike from Stephen Rodriguez to John Damrow.

“Our guys came out pretty flat, and Delavan came out pretty fired up,” Greinke said. “Luckily, we got things going and improved from there.

“I think a little bit of that has to do with Delavan’s record. Our guys might not have taken that as seriously as they should have. Also, it was Homecoming, and that can really distract a teenager.”

From that point, however, the rest of the game was all Wilmot.

Senior running back Bennett Kothe, who rushed for 164 yards on 23 carries, got the rally started with a 65-yard sprint to the end zone. Sophomore Marcus Lindstrand added the extra point to give Wilmot the lead for good.

After Kothe’s run, the Panthers turned to the aerial attack and their all-state receiver Matt Christensen.

Wilmot quarterback Noah Strasser and Christensen, who caught four passes for 100 yards, connected on touchdowns of 13, 12 and 37 yards.

“(Christensen) is a great athlete, and hard to cover, obviously,” Greinke said. “Delavan didn’t take the approach he has gotten most of the year of double and triple teaming him, so he was more open than in previous games.”

The scoring onslaught ended as it began, with a Kothe touchdown, as he scored from 25 yards out.

Wilmot finished its scoring with two more touchdowns in the third quarter. Garrett Bogucki scooped up a fumble and returned it 33 yards, followed by a 10-yard run by Zach Dodge.

Greinke was pleased to see his team overcome the slow start.

“I think our leaders got fed up with what was going on and stepped up their game and energy level,” he said. “Others followed suit. I think Garrett Bogucki’s big plays were what we needed to get things going.”

The Comets added their second touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter to account for the final score.

 

Tough opening draw

The focus now turns to the postseason, and for the Panthers, the challenge couldn’t be much tougher, as they drew the eighth seed in their pool.

With that eighth seed, Wilmot will travel to top-seeded and top-ranked Waunakee Friday for a 7 p.m. contest. The Warriors have won the last three Division 2 state champions and are a whopping 49-1 overall the past four seasons.

Greinke said his team won’t shy away from the challenge.

“My plan is simple, have the kids focus on the positives of the opportunity placed in front of them,” he said. “Waunakee will lose to someone some day. Why not us, why not now?

“We have the talent level to compete with the best in my opinion. If our kids were to play to their full potential we are capable of doing something like t


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